radiation reaction

Hi , I had some tests on my heart where they injected me with a radioactive tracer. I had severe reaction .I couldnt eat , I was so weak I couldnt stand up or speak, wasnt urinating hardly , blood preassure went down to 85/45 , and I was hanging on to life everyday. It took about a month to get over it. I am very sensitive to chemicals and medicines anyway. I used to dye cloth and even holding some of those chemicals in a cup in my hand would make me feel very ill , perhaps I was breathing in some vapour from it, also any medication like nytol makes me very weak. Anyway they want to do an angiogram ,where they inject a iodine dye into my arteries and then x-ray me with alot of radiation again.I am very very ill and need to have the test probably but what if they dont find anything but the actual test kills me. I want them to try some other things first like seeing if I get better from medication or doing another treadmill test but they wont listen.I think they think I am overreacting or excagerating but I am not at all. Most people are fine with the radiation but I think I went into a kind of shock which makes me very scared to do it again.Has anyone else had this kind of sensitivity to radiation?

I was unaware that radiation could produce any response. Given it is not the most healthy thing but personally I don't think it can have that type of affect on people. Same with the radioactive tracer.

Now on the other hand the liquid part of the tracer or the actual tracer material is a different story. You need to talk to your doctor or get a second opinion from a new doctor about allergic conditions to this product. As far as being allergic to the radioactive (radiowaves whether x or another high wave length is not something I have ever heard of. Long term repeated exposure of radiation is another story. But I'd focus on the procedure or contrast causing this reaction if it was a reaction.

As far as a short term blood drop this does happen to some people when injected but very brief only for a few minutes. This does sound like some kind of a reaction to the contrast if your blood pressure was normal before it 120/70. I don't know if you had low pressure to start with? If you have any doubt to what happened be seen by a different doctor or an allergist for a neutral opinion. This is not to be dealt with likely if you are having a type of reaction.

Another thing about these exams is after you have any type of contrast you need extra fluids so your body can start flushing the contrast out of you. Not urinating was a problem in a way that if this contrast was making you ill you were not removing it so much from your body as fast from what I understand. If I am wrong, please someone correct me.

But the small amount of radiation in the contrast used that I know from most contrasts is so weak it's usually undetectable by most common detection methods. I'm not even sure you can classify it as radioactive like you describe. The xrays is enough to detect yes. But more commonly reactions are from the contrast it self not anything else. If you have kidney problems contrast is sometimes not used with some types of contrast because you can't remove it as quickly from your body.

However either reason being the case, either an allergy, reaction, or just that your kidneys(pre-existing problem not from contrast) are not removing the contrast fast enough I personally would recommend you seeing a different doctor for a second opinion. This could also be part of a completely different problem. Unless medically necessary I would hold off on future tests for a few days until you can get a second opinion by a doctor familiar with contrast reactions to rule in or out a reaction.

Hi,
What you experienced was probably anaphylactic shock.Anaphylactic shock, or anaphylaxis, is one of the scariest health emergencies a patient can face; it occurs when you have a severe allergic reaction.
You may experience one of the following;
•Hives and swelling of the skin, lips, or face
•Wheezing or severe breathing problems
•Rapid pulse
•Sweating
•Dizziness, fainting, loss of consciousness
•Nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea
•Rapid loss of blood pressure
•Extremely pale skin
Dyes used in diagnostic X-rays or scans are a common cause in some individuals.
ref:http://www.myonlinewellness.com/topic/topic13675
You need to make this known to the doctors. They will either choose another method of investigation or use suitable substitutes for the test ,if possible, which will not cause an allergic re-action.

Hi
yes I think it may have been some sort of anaphylactic shock , I have never experienced anything so frightening before. Which makes me scared to do another test .Apparently if you experience anaphylaxis you have a good chance of it happening again. Maybe it was the tracer ,I think it may have been both . I certainly felt poisoned by the radiation and I dont think it is a small amount .apparently you are quite radioactive after. I wonder if you can get shock from radiation , probably as you can react to so many toxins and radiation is a powerful poison.Its very scary I dont know what to do I know I am hypersensitive and could easily react to the contrast dye even if they use a different one and the amount of radiation in the next test is also high , equivelent to 700 x-rays or more.I had one simple chest x-ray about a week ago and felt so ill for 2 days after. anyway I will probably try and ask the doctor on this forum .thanks

What was the outcome for you? I have had a horrible reaction to radiation that I am having immense problems getting any of them to recognise is even happening - and this was after DIAGNOSTIC scanning not theraputic treatment.
I am trying to find anyone who has suffered anything similar?

Just FYI....contrast media and radiation are entirely 2 different things. I think folks tend to get them confused. Yes you can have a reation to a contrast media...you can not to a radioisotope. However, an abundance of radiation can give you radiaiton sickness and possibly death. No testing would ever even come close to this type of reaction though. Not even radiation therapy! I do nuclear stress testing and have for over 25 years. I can assusre you that the reaction you are referring to does not have anything to do with the radiation. Perhaps you had a vaso vagal response. But this is very temporary response to being stuff with a needle.

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